Windows went from 2% market share.. to 3.2% market share.. and it steals the headlines from Apple, who went from 23 to 17, and got reported as having a positive YoY change. It did, in shipment volume- it's market share went DOWN by over 5%. Android increased across the board, but it's number of 79% growth doesn't look as impressive in comparison to.. Windows!

I'm glad to see it's picking up steam. I bought a WP8 phone in December and I really like it. The only drawback is the slightly more limited app selection, but as the platform gets more popular that will be rectified.

R.A.Danny:Windows went from 2% market share.. to 3.2% market share.. and it steals the headlines from Apple, who went from 23 to 17, and got reported as having a positive YoY change. It did, in shipment volume- it's market share went DOWN by over 5%. Android increased across the board, but it's number of 79% growth doesn't look as impressive in comparison to.. Windows!

Did someone get a few too many steak and lobster dinners in Redmond?

As a percentage WP has greater YoY growth than Android (133% vs 79%) but obviously Android sold far more units and had a greater YoY growth in terms of pure units shipped.

What's interesting is that both MS and Google are courting the developing world pretty heavily with budget-friendly devices while Apple is (as usual) sticking purely with models targeted towards the higher end of the market. One approach isn't necessarily better than the other, Apple is more interested in margin than pure market share, and only making premium products does help with brand cachet.

TuteTibiImperes:I'm glad to see it's picking up steam. I bought a WP8 phone in December and I really like it. The only drawback is the slightly more limited app selection, but as the platform gets more popular that will be rectified.

"Ha ha ha. You've fought the strongest master of this hole, the second strongest master of this hole, the fourth strongest master of this hole, and the weakest master of this hole! I'm truly the third strongest master of this hole. Now you see the true advantage of being third!"

Felgraf:"Ha ha ha. You've fought the strongest master of this hole, the second strongest master of this hole, the fourth strongest master of this hole, and the weakest master of this hole! I'm truly the third strongest master of this hole. Now you see the true advantage of being third!"

TuteTibiImperes:I'm glad to see it's picking up steam. I bought a WP8 phone in December and I really like it. The only drawback is the slightly more limited app selection, but as the platform gets more popular that will be rectified.

Yeah, I only require two apps: Civilization Revolution and Netflix. Windows Phone has both, and its Netflix app does HD, unlike the app on Android and iPhone (both of which can do HD only for "selected content").

I do wish it did Amazon Instant Video too, though.

Anyway, picking up an HTC 8X when I change carriers in the next month or two.

Lord Dimwit:TuteTibiImperes: I'm glad to see it's picking up steam. I bought a WP8 phone in December and I really like it. The only drawback is the slightly more limited app selection, but as the platform gets more popular that will be rectified.

Yeah, I only require two apps: Civilization Revolution and Netflix. Windows Phone has both, and its Netflix app does HD, unlike the app on Android and iPhone (both of which can do HD only for "selected content").

I do wish it did Amazon Instant Video too, though.

Anyway, picking up an HTC 8X when I change carriers in the next month or two.

Check out the Nokia options too. If you don't like the size/heft of the Lumia 920 (I like that it's hefty, some people don't care for it) they just announced the Lumia 925 which is similar but with a slimmed down case and less weight.

I chose Windows Phone over the competitors purely for battery life. My phone lasts 2 full days on a charge with moderate use. My friends are always complaining that their Androids run out of power before the end of the day.

I've never understood the complaints about app selection. There's hundreds of thousands of apps available, and I've found ones to do everything I ever want to do with my phone.

MithrandirBooga:I chose Windows Phone over the competitors purely for battery life. My phone lasts 2 full days on a charge with moderate use. My friends are always complaining that their Androids run out of power before the end of the day.

I've never understood the complaints about app selection. There's hundreds of thousands of apps available, and I've found ones to do everything I ever want to do with my phone.

I'm now a member of this group. I bought an 822 just to check out WP8... I figured I'd use it for a week and go back to my Gnex.

It's been about 2 months now and I have no desire to go back to Android. I find the WP8 experience to be better in every way... I was planning on getting an S4 before my experiment but I'm going with the 928 instead.

MithrandirBooga: My friends are always complaining that their Androids run out of power before the end of the day.

I think you'll find that battery life depends on the phone (obviously), but also very much on usage. My LG Optimus Elite will burn through most of a charge in a day if the 3G radio ("Mobile data") is enabled. Worse if it's not getting a 3G signal because it keeps transmitting to try to contact a tower. Slightly worse yet if I also have WiFi and GPS enabled. On the flip side, it'll last about 3 days days if I turn the 3G off and use WiFi. This works pretty well for me, since most of the time I'm around home or work with WiFi available.

For a given processor, I reckon there shouldn't be too wild a difference in power consumption based on OS, assuming the it is controlling the processor's various power domains appropriately.

MrEricSir:Microsoft has only been in the phone business for what, 13 years now? I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

MS fell behind in the same way that Blackberry did. They had a huge head start over the competition, but focused the offerings primarily on business users. It wasn't until Windows Mobile 6.5 that they even pretended to pay attention to people who wanted a smartphone for general entertainment and personal use, and even then it was halfassed. Windows Phone 7 gave MS a truly consumer focused smartphone OS, but it was missing out on features compared to iOS and Android. Windows Phone 8 caught up with, and even surpasses in some ways, iOS and Android, and MS also tightened up on the minimum hardware specs and pushed the hardware partners to actually produce devices that people want to buy. The result has been a lot more people are now buying Windows Phones because they're finally making a competitive product.

I used phones running PalmOS and earlier versions of Windows Mobile back in the day, and when I replaced my WM6 device with an iPhone it was a revelation. I would have likely stayed with Apple if they would have offered a phone with a decent sized screen, but in the end playing with a Lumia 920 at the AT&T store and seeing how well built the hardware was and how slick the OS was made me forget about the sins of MS phones past and give them another shot. So far I'm really liking it.

TuteTibiImperes:I'm glad to see it's picking up steam. I bought a WP8 phone in December and I really like it. The only drawback is the slightly more limited app selection, but as the platform gets more popular that will be rectified.

Just replaced a BB with an iPhone because there were apps that I need for business that aren't available for WP8. One of the things I noticed about the BB app store was that it was stuffed with crap. $1.99 apps that were simply shortcuts to a mobile web site. A search for "google maps" pulled up a bunch of shiat, but not the actual google maps app. A direct result of RIM's technique of giving free gear and flat out money to "developers".

RatOmeter:MithrandirBooga: My friends are always complaining that their Androids run out of power before the end of the day.

I think you'll find that battery life depends on the phone (obviously), but also very much on usage. My LG Optimus Elite will burn through most of a charge in a day if the 3G radio ("Mobile data") is enabled. Worse if it's not getting a 3G signal because it keeps transmitting to try to contact a tower. Slightly worse yet if I also have WiFi and GPS enabled. On the flip side, it'll last about 3 days days if I turn the 3G off and use WiFi. This works pretty well for me, since most of the time I'm around home or work with WiFi available.

For a given processor, I reckon there shouldn't be too wild a difference in power consumption based on OS, assuming the it is controlling the processor's various power domains appropriately.

Here's the thing though. I can get 2 days on my Lumia 822 with Wifi and GPS enabled.

I don't have to worry about shutting things off all the time.

The only way I've found to drain this thing in less than 24 hours is to play a few hours of 3D games on it.

Babwa Wawa:TuteTibiImperes: I'm glad to see it's picking up steam. I bought a WP8 phone in December and I really like it. The only drawback is the slightly more limited app selection, but as the platform gets more popular that will be rectified.

Just replaced a BB with an iPhone because there were apps that I need for business that aren't available for WP8. One of the things I noticed about the BB app store was that it was stuffed with crap. $1.99 apps that were simply shortcuts to a mobile web site. A search for "google maps" pulled up a bunch of shiat, but not the actual google maps app. A direct result of RIM's technique of giving free gear and flat out money to "developers".

Then I saw that Microsoft is doing the same thing. Do you see that phenomenon in the Windows mobile app store?

There is crap in the store. There are "portal" apps that are for-purchase which are simply interfaces over a website. As a web developer I wonder why they didn't simply create a mobile HTML version. I don't pay for those. I suppose most people when they get a phone they think of "apps" and just get those and rarely use the browser. I'm not sure.

For the most part everything seems legit. I haven't seen any outright scams yet. There's a bunch of "freemium" games which are impossibly hard and they entire you to buy "upgrades" to make the games easier, but those exist on every platform, and it's easy to simply uninstall it and find a better game for less money. Let's put it this way. My 16gb main memory is constantly full of apps and I'm always rotating games in and out as I get bored and find new ones.

I'll say my biggest complaint is that I wish this phone came in a 32gb version. I have a 64gb memory card added on but that's full (completely) of music, so any theoretical update they make in the future that allows apps to work on an expansion card wouldn't be very useful.

Same. Had a Lumia 900, then got the 920. It's a great phone. I've tried everything except the new Blackberry stuff, and I've been most happy with WP8. It's stable, has just the right amount of customization, lets me delete all the dumb nonsense bloatware, and the camera is very good. When it comes time to upgrade, I'll look at the latest and greatest from everyone, but I could easily get another Windows phone and be quite happy.

I'm switching to a Lumia 928 from the Android flavored RAZR (or ANDRD FLAVRD RAZR). Since the jellybean update I feel like I'm fighting with my phone more than I already had been. The weather app went bye bye, gotta use that stupid Google now thing that replaced search, which, by the way, is dog ass slow, like, 2-3 seconds between typing something and letters actually showing up on the screen. They reorganized the settings menu, again, so I can't even find the bloody alarm clock anymore. My wireless hotspot app that let me bypass VZW's asinine cash grab to enable that feature no longer works. Every time I plug it in to a computer it forgets the ringtones I've set and either sets them all to default or goes completely silent. Same thing happens when it switch it to silent or vibrate mode and switch it back to noisy. And on top of all that I found out that Google+, an app I never use, somehow ate up 600+ MB of data in one week since the upgrade. Luckily you can disable that "feature". Just...fark this phone.

I've had an unlocked L920 since November and it's way more user friendly, simple and quick. I just can't use it on Verizon's network even though it's a quad band, but that's a whole other rant. Best part about WP is you can uninstall any bloatware your carrier decides to put on it. No more got damned ESPN Zone and NFL apps eating up memory and storage space that can be better used for pr0n...erm...music.

Babwa Wawa:TuteTibiImperes: I'm glad to see it's picking up steam. I bought a WP8 phone in December and I really like it. The only drawback is the slightly more limited app selection, but as the platform gets more popular that will be rectified.

Just replaced a BB with an iPhone because there were apps that I need for business that aren't available for WP8. One of the things I noticed about the BB app store was that it was stuffed with crap. $1.99 apps that were simply shortcuts to a mobile web site. A search for "google maps" pulled up a bunch of shiat, but not the actual google maps app. A direct result of RIM's technique of giving free gear and flat out money to "developers".

Then I saw that Microsoft is doing the same thing. Do you see that phenomenon in the Windows mobile app store?

That's less Microsoft giving money to developers and more Google not wanting Microsoft to have a viable smartphone platform. Apple found out the hard way that you have to play Google's game if you want to sell smartphones, and Google's not even willing to play a down with Microsoft.

/which is anti-competitive and possibly antitrust behavior, but that's another discussion.

Marine1:That's less Microsoft giving money to developers and more Google not wanting Microsoft to have a viable smartphone platform. Apple found out the hard way that you have to play Google's game if you want to sell smartphones, and Google's not even willing to play a down with Microsoft.

I was talking about my experience with the Blackberry, where the google maps app wasn't available in their app store, but a bunch of other shiatful apps with "google maps" in their names or keywords were.

Whether that was google just not bothering to pay the $100 or so to get it listed in the BB app store, or refusing to put it in their app store doesn't matter. RIM structured their app store as a pay-to-play situation like Apple's which you simply can't do if you're sucking hind tit. If you're not first or second, you can't have that model. Probably something along the lines of a curated app store, where app vendors can apply to have their apps listed, but you also have to right to put sideloaded apps searchable within it. The result is that the BB app store is irrelevant. If I wanted BB apps, I started with the web. The BB app store was just full of crapps. I find that MS' strategy is similarly lacking.

Babwa Wawa:Marine1: That's less Microsoft giving money to developers and more Google not wanting Microsoft to have a viable smartphone platform. Apple found out the hard way that you have to play Google's game if you want to sell smartphones, and Google's not even willing to play a down with Microsoft.

I was talking about my experience with the Blackberry, where the google maps app wasn't available in their app store, but a bunch of other shiatful apps with "google maps" in their names or keywords were.

Whether that was google just not bothering to pay the $100 or so to get it listed in the BB app store, or refusing to put it in their app store doesn't matter. RIM structured their app store as a pay-to-play situation like Apple's which you simply can't do if you're sucking hind tit. If you're not first or second, you can't have that model. Probably something along the lines of a curated app store, where app vendors can apply to have their apps listed, but you also have to right to put sideloaded apps searchable within it. The result is that the BB app store is irrelevant. If I wanted BB apps, I started with the web. The BB app store was just full of crapps. I find that MS' strategy is similarly lacking.

All of the app stores have plenty of crap apps, the Windows Phone App Store included.

Overall the app situation isn't bad. The first party apps from MS are all very solid, if you have to deal with MS Office documents at all the integrated Office apps are fantastic, the SkyDrive integration is strong, and the e-mail client works well. The Nokia apps are almost first party considering how closely MS and Nokia are working together, and Nokia Maps (well, called 'Here Maps' now) works as well as Google Maps, and Nokia Drive (now 'Here Drive') is a great navigation program. Media integration is a bit weaker - the Zune app (which was good) has been discontinued, and the Xbox Music app for the PC isn't as well developed, though the Xbox Music app on the phone works very well and the service itself is great.

The one thing I do miss is Google Voice - there's no Google Voice app, though there is an all called MetroTalk that integrates into the Google Voice service and does the same thing. Unfortunately if Google changes things behind the scenes the app will break for a couple days until they rush out a patch to make it work again. It's a minor annoyance, but it's there.

In some ways you just have to get used to doing things a bit differently. I was initially disappointed with Nokia Maps because coming from an iPhone I was used to just firing up Google Maps and using that to find anything - phone numbers, business web sites, etc. WP8 isn't designed that way - there's a dedicated search button on the front of the phone (powered by Bing of course) that you hit, type (or speak) whatever you're looking for, and brings up the neatly categorized results, which then links you to the appropriate app in the phone when you click on one (hit a phone number and the dialer comes up ready to call it, hit an address and you can view it in maps or set it as a destination in drive, etc).

When it comes to third party apps, I've been able to find ones to do anything I've needed to do. The financial calculator on WP8 is a different one than the one I used on iOS, but functionally it does the same thing. Some apps don't feel quite as polished - Words with Friends is much quicker and slicker on iOS than the WP8 port for example. Finally, there are a few niche apps not available at all. A couple that I use for work are only available on iOS, but I have an iPad for those anyway, so it's a non-issue for me.

MrEricSir:Microsoft has only been in the phone business for what, 13 years now? I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Apple has been making computers for how long? It's just a matter of time. I've seen (worldwide) estimates of desktop % by OS, and OSX is somewhere in the 6% range. It is about 90% based on TV and movies.

Babwa Wawa:Marine1: That's less Microsoft giving money to developers and more Google not wanting Microsoft to have a viable smartphone platform. Apple found out the hard way that you have to play Google's game if you want to sell smartphones, and Google's not even willing to play a down with Microsoft.

I was talking about my experience with the Blackberry, where the google maps app wasn't available in their app store, but a bunch of other shiatful apps with "google maps" in their names or keywords were.

Whether that was google just not bothering to pay the $100 or so to get it listed in the BB app store, or refusing to put it in their app store doesn't matter. RIM structured their app store as a pay-to-play situation like Apple's which you simply can't do if you're sucking hind tit. If you're not first or second, you can't have that model. Probably something along the lines of a curated app store, where app vendors can apply to have their apps listed, but you also have to right to put sideloaded apps searchable within it. The result is that the BB app store is irrelevant. If I wanted BB apps, I started with the web. The BB app store was just full of crapps. I find that MS' strategy is similarly lacking.

Marine1:Electrify: After looking at the cluster that is the Galaxy S4, I could see Android sales slipping over the next year.

/retarded amount of toggles in the notification tray and only 9GB of app storage//HTC One might be better, but most users will go for the slower One X+ for obvious reasons

You have to wonder just how long Samsung will stick with Android.

Well, they can't make iOS devices, they've made Windows Phones in the past but they weren't as good as the ones made by others, Symbian is dying, and Blackberry doesn't seem likely to license their OS.

Android is pretty much their only option unless they want to release something with an in-house developed OS. They have some brand recognition now, so if the Galaxy S5 ran SamungOS instead of Android a lot of people might buy it just on the name, but when they discovered that they couldn't download and use all of the Android apps they were used to things could turn ugly.

Google hasn't done very much as far as putting restrictions or strict guidelines on hardware manufacturers or network operators anyway though, so there's probably little reason for Samsung to want to change.

TuteTibiImperes:Marine1: Electrify: After looking at the cluster that is the Galaxy S4, I could see Android sales slipping over the next year.

/retarded amount of toggles in the notification tray and only 9GB of app storage//HTC One might be better, but most users will go for the slower One X+ for obvious reasons

You have to wonder just how long Samsung will stick with Android.

Well, they can't make iOS devices, they've made Windows Phones in the past but they weren't as good as the ones made by others, Symbian is dying, and Blackberry doesn't seem likely to license their OS.

Android is pretty much their only option unless they want to release something with an in-house developed OS. They have some brand recognition now, so if the Galaxy S5 ran SamungOS instead of Android a lot of people might buy it just on the name, but when they discovered that they couldn't download and use all of the Android apps they were used to things could turn ugly.

Google hasn't done very much as far as putting restrictions or strict guidelines on hardware manufacturers or network operators anyway though, so there's probably little reason for Samsung to want to change.

I have a Win8 phone from Samsung, the Ativ S. It's basically the same guts as the Galaxy III. I know it's not a big market for them at all, but they do have a little skin in the game.

Crudbucket:TuteTibiImperes: Marine1: Electrify: After looking at the cluster that is the Galaxy S4, I could see Android sales slipping over the next year.

/retarded amount of toggles in the notification tray and only 9GB of app storage//HTC One might be better, but most users will go for the slower One X+ for obvious reasons

You have to wonder just how long Samsung will stick with Android.

Well, they can't make iOS devices, they've made Windows Phones in the past but they weren't as good as the ones made by others, Symbian is dying, and Blackberry doesn't seem likely to license their OS.

Android is pretty much their only option unless they want to release something with an in-house developed OS. They have some brand recognition now, so if the Galaxy S5 ran SamungOS instead of Android a lot of people might buy it just on the name, but when they discovered that they couldn't download and use all of the Android apps they were used to things could turn ugly.

Google hasn't done very much as far as putting restrictions or strict guidelines on hardware manufacturers or network operators anyway though, so there's probably little reason for Samsung to want to change.

I have a Win8 phone from Samsung, the Ativ S. It's basically the same guts as the Galaxy III. I know it's not a big market for them at all, but they do have a little skin in the game.

AFAIK Samsung hasn't launched that on any of the carriers in the US (though I suppose you could buy one full price unlocked and use it on AT&T or T-Mobile if you wanted).